Apparatus for displaying lighted advertisements



A. COLBERG 1,745,407 APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING LIGHTED ADVERTISEMENTS Feb. 4, 1930.

Filed 001;. 20, 19 28 eurm w iiazz a disturbing visible beam of rays,

Patented Feb. 4, 1930 ALFRED comma, or

PATENT OFFICE HAMBURG. GERMANY APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING LIGHTED ADVERTISEMENTS Application filed October 20, 1928, Serial Nb.

I have filed an application on this invention in Germany on February 27, 1927.

This invention relates to an apparatus for displaying lighted advertisements in writing 5 or as pictures, byineans of which the advertising sign, in contradiction to the commonly used projection apparatus, can be projected, Without complicated arrangements and without producing in the field of vision on rainy clouds or accumulated clouds, on fumes or on stationary surfaces, the advertising sign appearing in sharp white outlines on a darker back ground, immaterial of which color or shape the back ground may be.

This object is attained according to the invention by forming the advertising sign by the filaments of an electric incandescent lamp of great luminous intensity, for instance of 4000 watts, said filaments forming characters or pictures, the light rays emitted by these filaments being made to pass through an adjustable hollow lens capable to design the form of the filaments clearly and without visible projection rays on more or less distant cloud-smoke-mist or stationary walls.

An apparatus constructed according to the invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanyingdrawing in which Fig. 1 shows the apparatus in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a top plane View of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 shows the apparatus in operation.

Fig. 4 shows a form of construction of the electric incandescent lamp used in the apparatus. The apparatus consists substantially of an electric incandescent lamp 1 and of a hollow lens 2'. These two elements are mounted on a frame which is composed as follows On two longitudinal bars 4 which are tubular or made of profile iron and connected by cross rods 3, a plate 5 is shiftably mounted by means of lugs 6. This plate 5 can be shifted in the longitudinal direction oftlie frame'b'y means of a screw spindle 7 screwed into a nut 8 fixed under said plate 5 and by means of a hand wheel on one end of said spindle, so that the lens can be adjusted with regard to 313,903, and in'Germany February 27, 1927.

. of the plate 5. A screw spindle 14 and handwheel 15 serve for adjusting the small plate 10, which carries a frame 16 in which the lens 2 is removably mounted. On the rear transverse bar 3 the incandescent electric lamp 1 is fixed by means of a holder 17 on which the armature for the electric conductor is mounted. As this armature is generally known, it is not shown in the drawing nor will it be described.

The whole frame 3, 4 with incandescent electric lamp and lens is adapted to be oscillated in vertical direction around a bearing 18 fixed on a standard 19, a screw spindle 20 and a hand wheel 21 forming a nut and mounted on a standard 22 serve for oscillating the frame. The whole apparatus is further adapted to be oscillated in horizontal direction in a manner known from large size optical instruments.

According to the invention the filaments 23 of the lamp 1 are curved to form characters or pictures and they are connected to the conductors 24 in the same manner as the commonly used filaments (Fig. 4). Any character or picture may be formed provided electric light current can flow through all the lines of the same. v

The glass lens 2 maybe ground convexconcave or concave-convex, the latter form being preferable for the projection of advertisements on clouds or the like.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows I After the incandescent electric lamp 1,

containing the word or sign'to be projected,

has been screwed into the socket on the holder 17, the frame is adjusted into the dire tion of the'surface on which the picture has to be projected and the lens 2 is to be adjusted with regard to the lamp 1 into correct position so that the projected characters or picture show sharp contours.

On a cloud (Fig. 3) the filaments of the incandescent electric lamp as shown in Fig. 4

will project the Word Odol so that it ap-' pears in a bright white color on a dark background. Experiments have shown that it is easyto produce with the aid of this apparatus a sharp conspicuous picture appearing to the observer the more mysterious as he pannotsee the projecting rays 26 behind the A still better effect is obtained, if in front of the lamp 1 a shiftable dark slide is arranged which releases the characters successively. This dark slide, as it is well known from commonly used projection apparatus,

is consequently not shown in the drawing.

Several forms of construction of the apparatus are possible andthe arrangement of the several elements may be'alteredaccording to the prevailing conditions without cleparting from the idea of the invention.

I claim 1 An apparatus for displaying lighted advertisements in writing and pictures on clouds, smoke, haze and solid walls, comprising in combination with an electric incandescent lamp having filaments in the shape of charactersor pictures and with an optical lens'system arranged in front of the incandescent lamp, a vertically. oscillatable frame carrying said lamp, a plate'mounted on said frame so that it can be shifted in longitudinal direction, a second plate mounted on said first mentioned plate separately shiftable in'longitudinal direction and carrying the lens system, and an upright frame fixed on said second mentioned plate, in which said lens is movably mounted, said first mentionedplateadapted toxefiect the coarse and quick focusing of the picture and said second ment oned plate adapted to efiect the fine focus- 1ng of thepicture.

. In testimony 1 whereof I afiix my signature.

ALFRED COLBERG. 

